Bomb Joke No Laughing Matter

MAKING JOKES about bombs at airports is no laughing matter -- it`s a crime.

A South Carolina man learned that painful lesson the other day while trying to board a Chicago-bound flight at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach.

Sheriff`s deputies slapped him with a felony charge of making a false bomb report and jailed him briefly on $10,000 bond before a judge released him. They accused him of telling a security guard he had three bombs while trying to pass his carry-on luggage through an X-ray security checkpoint.

No bombs were found and the man insisted he was ``just kidding around.``

With all the hijackings, bombings and other terrorist acts threatening the safety of airline passengers worldwide, strict laws are necessary to protect the innocent. A federal law properly makes it a crime to make a false bomb report, because such a report can terrorize people, disrupt airline operations and cause great expense to verify.

There`s no excuse for unfunny jokes about bombs at airports. Signs warning passengers are posted all over airports, and many people who have made wisecracks have found themselves in serious trouble with the law.

The latest ``joke`` shows that some people just haven`t gotten the message.